Inside Gillette Blog

Gillette has been taking care of children in Minnesota—and across the country and around the world—for more than 100 years. We’ve learned a lot about the best way to take care of kids who have disabilities—and an important part of what we do is share that information. Now the State of Minnesota is helping us spread the word.

The Minnesota Department of Health recently awarded Gillette a three-year, $480,000 grant to identify and test something called “models of pediatric care coordination.” Care coordination is a concept that involves delivering the right care and services at the right time to people who have complex medical needs. In other words, it’s not just about medical interventions. It’s about a methodical approach to bringing together everything a patient with a diagnosis—such as cerebral palsy—needs so that the patient’s health and well-being improves. It also involves strong partnerships between health care and community organizations.

“Care coordination is a hot topic in health care right now, but the term is under-defined and often misused,” explains Holly Bronson, manager of Gillette’s statewide clinics. “Our work will involve helping the Minnesota Department of Health better define what care coordination means for children with complex medical needs.”

The grant—awarded only to Gillette—helps fund, among other things, a licensed social worker, a registered nurse and a scheduling specialist to aid families in their care navigation. When patients need specialty services not available in their local community, for instance, the scheduling specialist will help coordinate multiple Gillette appointments on the same day.

Because of this grant, Gillette will partner with four primary care clinics across Minnesota: Mankato Clinic; Sanford Bemidji Clinic; Fairview Range – Hibbing Clinic; and HealthEast Roselawn Clinic in St. Paul to evaluate the effectiveness of various models of care coordination. We’ll work together to discover how Gillette’s specialty care model can best communicate and integrate with our primary care partners. Then, we’ll work with the Minnesota Department of Health to disseminate our findings across the state.

We are excited for our innovation and expertise to come together as we constantly strive to find new ways to improve the quality of care for our patients.